British Art At Albemarle

Why did you become an artist?

I was never discouraged to study or pursue Art. I carried on after university making it halfway through a 10-month painting residency until the pandemic arrived, moved to the Irish countryside, and painted throughout the summer lockdown. My mum and I converted an old potting shed into a painting studio where friends, neighbours and farmers dropped round half-used tins of paint, tools, and brushes; it was a godsend. I sold my first work on paper which looking back now, was a minor albeit significant milestone that helped me believe people wanted to own my work. I knew there wasn’t a job that would force to me to think as hard and feel as much as painting does, leading me to where I am today.

Where do you find inspiration?

I take photos of scenes and objects like dinner-filled tabletops, quirky furniture, patterned wallpaper, characterful shoes and trousers, flamboyant front doors on houses. Anything that resonates with me at that moment in time – often it’s an instant decision to recreate a feature within the photo straight on to canvas, or it’ll take hours of ideas going back and forth with drawing in between. Alluring compositions within domestic interiors or exterior settings; I recently received flowers at an exhibition opening and lay them in the hotel bathroom sink overnight to keep alive. The tiled, cold floor and vast, beige walls juxtaposed with the vivid abundance of natural beauty became a scenic muse for my next painting.

Why did you become an artist?

I don’t think it was a choice. Creating and making has just always been around me. My mum is very creative: I remember her taking me to rope-making courses, making me headbands with intricate silk vegetables on. And obviously I was that child at school who had a sunshine and animals painted onto her shoes… My parents had great fabrics, art, and pieces around the various houses they moved in and out of. One of the pictures I remember best was an Elizabeth Blackadder print. It is so perfectly painted; the colours chime so beautifully – it’s elegant. I loved it: I loved its light and I loved that it made home feel like a feminine space, even with three brothers. I think the power of emotion is something we should embrace in art and, as a female artist, I feel it’s something that can often get suppressed. I think we should ride with them! Bring on emotions!

Where do you find inspiration?

Mainly in nature. It’s all about the colours for me – it’s a cliché, but it’s true. Nature always gets it right. There must be an evolutionary reason, but nature always gets the tone, shade, light totally perfect – it feels universal. I don’t think I will ever be able to even get close to recreating it but it’s that lightness of touch that I so want to achieve, that nonchalance. The effortless lightness. There is nothing so draining and heavy as an overworked piece of art.

Why did you become an artist?

I have always had a passion for drawing and painting, but it was only at college, when my tutor exposed the notion that art is the most profound medium to develop a connection to myself and others. When I was young, I remember seeing the work of Frank Auerbach and was so moved by the layers and storytelling in his work that my passion really developed from there.

Where do you find inspiration?

My greatest inspiration is from past experiences and traumas, drawing on memory and nostalgia, as well as from old family albums – both my own and found imagery. Films, music, literature, poetry, and of course other artists inspire my work daily. Sometimes it is a physical object or even a smell that can trigger a visceral response that I bring to my work, which is anchored by female identity and relationships. My inspiration is underpinned by a fascination with relationships, in particular the role that family plays in forming behaviours and character. My work is an attempt to document the feelings, experiences and memories of life and it is a response to me comprehending my place in the world.

Why did you become an artist?

There has been, since my late teens, an extremely strong and unbreakable attraction to the creation of artworks. I felt such a strong sense of belonging within the art community at City and Guilds Art School, and this is where I found the spark that has driven me to exceed my own expectations. My practice as an artist is undoubtably the one thing that pushes me the hardest, and I feel privileged to pursue a career with unlimited creative boundaries and a plethora of development opportunities. Plainly, it is addiction to visualise ideas in colour and form.

Where do you find inspiration?

I like to find myself in moments where I can appreciate my presence in the natural world. Unburdened by the complexity of modernity. Reflecting on moments of purity and innocence is vital to my studio practice. I may have an idea or certain emotion that I want to act upon or speak of, but if I cannot relate to this simple state of mind, of connection and presence, then I find my workings or brush strokes futile. 

These occasions I speak of mainly occur during long and exposed hikes in mountainous regions. I find a power in juxtaposing the feelings of insignificance in relation to our natural world with the pertinence and realness of human emotion.

Why did you become an artist?

This was the way I could give form to my thoughts and ideas, unbound by conventions. I also want to surprise myself by what I paint, there’s a kind of enigmatic frustration to making visual things, I enjoy that. Better to put things into the world than just take.

Where do you find inspiration?

Observing and filtering what’s around me. Things linger in my mind, sometimes for years, before finding their way into a painting.

Why did you become an artist?

I became an artist as art is all I have ever cared about, to put it simply. The idea of creating something both beautiful and thought provoking with my own hands has always presented itself as a world of opportunity. From a doodle on a note pad to a painting on a canvas the practice of creating the ‘new’ or reimagining the already existing has taken hold of my life and become all I think about. I see art as invention and something new comes into the world each time I enter the studio and I think that’s exciting.

Where do you find inspiration?

My inspiration comes from everyday life, I’m influenced by the beautiful and bold as everyone is; but it’s the mundane, the ‘everyday’ objects and the staples of daily life that truly push me to create my work. I try to find the importance within objects and places that are so easily overlooked, bringing the mundane to higher esteem. These subjects can subconsciously sculpt our lives and reflect who we are, yet they can be thought of as boring, but maybe boring is important?